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Messages from our Rabbi

Rabbi Dantowitz sends out a message each Friday morning, providing insights to this week's Torah portion and additional comments about news that impacts our community. Recent messages are below, and older messages may be found in the Message Archives section.

Parashat Yitro
17 Shevat 5785
February 14-15, 2025

Dear Congregants,

It is hard to process the overwhelming amount of news these past few weeks.  Last Shabbat we witnessed three hostages released, Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi, whose physical appearances triggered images of Holocaust survivors. Upon release, Eli and Or learned of their family members’ murders on October 7 (Eli’s wife and kids; Or’s wife). We pray for healing for all suffering—hostages, returned hostages, and Palestinians suffering from Hamas. This morning we learned that tomorrow Sasha Trufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn should be released. 

The ceasefire is fragile and we pray for an end to the war. The President’s recent statement about relocating Gazans, not allowing them to return there and having a nice piece of real estate for the US to develop is shocking and one the Reform movement strongly responded to with this statement

I’m proud to share that the Reform Movement joined a Federal lawsuit protecting religious freedom principles. A core teaching of the Torah (where we are commanded 36 times) is to love the stranger. 

The Reform movement also signed a statement in support of Diversity Equity and Inclusion which “breaks down barriers and protects our shared safety and history.” 

This month of February is also Black History month, Jewish Disability Awareness Month, and includes Refugee Shabbat and Reproductive Rights Shabbat. All of these special recognitions lift up our Reform Jewish values.

As I studied the Torah portion this week, Parashat Yitro, there was much to consider. In this week’s Torah portion, named for Moses’ non-Jewish father-in-law Yitro (Jethro), It begins with Yitro bringing Moses’ wife and sons back to reunite with him. But instead of reading about the family’s embrace, the Torah focuses on Moses and Yitro. Yitro notices that Moses is working too hard and will wear himself out. He urges him to appoint people to help him.

So too, there is more work to be done than any one of us can do. If we try to work 24/7 we will wear ourselves out. It is important that we each do what we can. In a meeting with American Jewish World Service (AJWS) this week, Global Justice Shero Ruth Messinger emphasized that we can each do something, but we can’t do everything.

As I read through the entire Torah portion, another verse struck me in explaining what it was like for our ancestors to experience Revelation. This portion is the first time we read the Ten Commandments (they are shared again in the book of Deuteronomy). If we take the time to contemplate each of them, there is much for us to consider. How are we experiencing God in our lives (1st Commandment–”I am Adonai your God”)? Do we experience the ‘heaviness’ of honoring our parents? The word honor in Hebrew is kavod, which shares the same root as the word kaved/heavy. Are we observing “You shall not steal” beyond the obvious (physically stealing to the stealing of ideas, not giving credit to a source) and more.

The Torah tells us that after revelation "All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning…” Exodus 20:15

The intensity of this experience was unsettling for our ancestors. In Torah Commentary Etz Hayim  we read that: “The experience of Revelation was so uniquely intense and overwhelming that the sense overflowed their normal bounds. People felt that they were seeing sounds and hearing visions.”

Our normal bounds are being overwhelmed.On this Shabbat Parashat Yitro, may we find strength in turning to one another. May we support each other and animate the Divine in each other. In reflecting on the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-14)  this week, we can be inspired to lift our values up even when we are feeling overwhelmed. 

Shabbat Shalom at Home,

Rabbi Faith Joy Dantowitz


Parashat Beshalach
10 Shevat 5785
February 7-8, 2025

Dear Congregants,

On this Shabbat Shira (Sabbath of Song) of Parsahat Beshalah, we read the Israelites journey through the Red Sea. The miracle of the Sea of Reeds parting and our ancestors crossing through on dry land enabled them to escape from Pharoah’s army chasing them after he regretted letting the slaves go free. 

Upon reaching the other side of the sea, Moses sings a song to God and all of Israel joins in with him. The text includes:

Ozi v’zimrat Yah vayehi li lishua– God is my strength and might; God is become my deliverance.

Mi chamocha ba-eilim Adonai. Mi Kamocha nedar bakodesh-Who is like you God among all the gods; Who is like You, majestic in holiness.

In a Midrash, prior to crossing the sea, the angels sing a song of rejoicing and God chastised them for celebrating when God’s creatures are suffering/dying.

Talmud Tractate Megillah 10b: As the Egyptians started to drown in the Red Sea, the heavenly hosts began to sing praises, but God silenced the angels, saying, “The works of my hands are drowning in the sea, and you wish to sing praises!”

Moses, Miriam and all of Israel sang after they crossed the sea and survived. They didn’t sing at the moment of the crossing. Yet, God’s chastisement of the angels invites us to consider how we balance rejoicing amidst tragedy; joy amidst sorrow. We are not wired to experience only one emotion at a time. Every day we experience a range of emotions. We can show empathy for others’ suffering while also rejoicing in our moments of joy and hope to experience empathy from others when we suffer.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Dantowitz 
**Reform Leadership Responds to President Trump's Statement on Gaza 
**Here in our community, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley Faces Abrupt Refugee Program Halt.
Click on the link to learn more and ways to help.


Parashat Bo
3 Shevat 5785
January 31-February 1, 2025

Dear Congregants,

Parashat Bo includes the final three plagues. Pharoah has refused to let the Israelites go after each of the prior seven plagues. To end each plague, he suggests he will let them go but then, he hardens his heart. 

The penultimate plague is the plague of darkness. “Moses held out his arm toward the sky and thick darkness descended upon all the land of Egypt for three days. People could not see one another, and for three days no one could get up from where he was; but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings.” [Exodus 10:22-23]

The commentators note that the darkness may not be a simple lack of light for if that was so, the Egyptians could have lit candles. Instead, this may have been a psychological darkness or depression. When we can not recognize our neighbor; when we can not see what they are experiencing, we are spiritually stunted. The first words of the Talmud ask–from what time may one recite the Shema the rabbis respond “dawn” which is defined as the time “when one can recognize the face of a friend” [Etz Hayyim p.377]

Our evening and morning prayers preceding the Shema are Ma’ariv Aravim (God who turns day into night) and Yotzer Or (Creator of Light). These prayers recognize that day turns to night and back again. So too, darkness comes but the light will follow. The following prayer focuses on love (Ahavat Olam(Everlasting love)/Ahavah Raba(Great Love)). 

Even when we feel stuck in darkness, we can know that light will come and that our actions can help bring about more light and love in the world. In the words of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” 

Tonight we will kindle the lights of Shabbat, pause from the many events of this week, turn to one another and God and strive to spread more light in the world.**

And we celebrate God, Matir Asurim, who frees the captives with the return this week of:
Last Shabbat Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag and yesterday, Agam Berger, Arbel Yehud, Gadi Moses and Thai Nationals, Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Saethao and Surasak Lamnao.

And we anticipate the release tomorrow of Yarden Bibas, Ofer Calderon, and American Israeli, Keith Siegel. I met his brother Lee Siegel a year ago in Tel Aviv.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Dantowitz

**Here in our community, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley Faces Abrupt Refugee Program Halt.
Click on the link to learn more and ways to help.


Parashat Va'era
25Tevet 5785
January 24-25, 2025

Dear Congregants,

At the beginning of this week’s Parashat Va’era, we learn that our ancestors were suffering from “kotzer ruach and avodah kashah”---short breath/crushed spirits and hard work.

Ruach is the word for breath or spirit and the description from ancient times certainly resonates today. 

From a CA perspective, we are still concerned about SoCal friends and family. The winds continue to blow in new directions with fires erupting anew this week. The firefighters are doing very hard work to contain and extinguish the fires.

Last Sunday morning many of us watched breathlessly as the first three hostages were released: Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. This ceasefire deal required a lot of hard work and sacrifices. Our spirits are still crushed by the tragedy of October 7, and the suffering in Israel and Gaza.

Here in America, many are experiencing kotzer ruach anew with a new administration acting out against our family and friends, children of God created B’tzelem Elohim, who are part of the LGBTQ community. With grace, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde spoke out for all with kotzer ruach, lifting up shared Jewish values of honesty, dignity, and welcoming the stranger. 

I share with you these inspiring words from Rabbi Tali Adler’s D’var Torah, Rachel Goldberg-Polin (mother of murdered American Israeli hostage Hersh)’s piece ‘The Beginning of the End, and not the End,’ and a link to the Bishop’s powerful sermon

Final section of Rabbi Tali Adler’s D’var Torah ‘Remembering Who We Are:’

“The stories the Jewish people read week after week are not simply a distraction from their troubles. They are a source of strength and hope. Reading the stories, the Jewish people are reminded of their history. They remember what their ancestors have endured, and they understand themselves as part of a greater story. Like Moshe at the beginning of our parashah, they draw strength from their family history. The fact that their ancestors endured difficulty and survived to build a people means that they too have that strength. The story of that chain of survival and the belief that sustained it gives them the ability to endure.

Sometimes the world around us is too dark for us to imagine a better future. Some days it is impossible to imagine the day after, or to hope that it can possibly bring anything good. In those moments, what we need isn't always assurance about the future. Sometimes what we need, instead, is the story of who we are and how we've gotten this far. In those moments, the most important thing we can do is recite to ourselves the names of those who came before us, and to remember that they saw darker nights than these.

And on those nights, those whispered names, that incantation, can create the spark that allows us to dream of the day that will follow.”

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Dantowitz


Parashat Shemot
18 Tevet 5785
January 17-18, 2025

Dear Congregants,

This week we enter a new book of Torah with Parashat Shemot—the first portion in Exodus. In Hebrew it is called Shemot which means "Names."  
The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God. [Exodus 2:23]

God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them. [Exodus 2:25]

After more than 15 months with hostages taken on October 7, 2023, a ceasefire deal to end the War has been approved. It’s been more than a year since the first ceasefire when over 100 hostages were returned. Now, we await, anxiously hopeful, that the deal will continue with all of the remaining hostages returned—and pray that many are still alive. The first stage of the plan begins with 33 hostages to be released over the next six weeks. Click on the link to see their Shemot/names (and their faces).

I pray for an end to suffering for the Israelis and Palestinians. For a rebuilding of hearts, bodies and homes. The physical and emotional destruction is vast.

I pray as well for all those suffering from the LA fires.

And on this Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend which also includes a Presidential Inauguration, I pray for MLK’s dreams to be realized:  “When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  - Martin Luther King, Jr. “Where Do We Go From Here?”

Shabbat Shalom at Home,

Rabbi Dantowitz 

You may be helping a loved one in LA  directly. Here are a couple of organizations recommended by colleagues in Los Angeles:

Wildfire Crisis Relief Jewish Federation Los Angeles

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation


Parashat Vayechi
11 Tevet 5785
January 10-11, 2025

Dear Congregants,

At the end of a painful week of horrifying devastation in Los Angeles, we can find inspiration and comfort in the words of our Torah. This week’s parasha, Vayechi, is the final portion of the book of Genesis. Jacob, our ancestor, is ill and approaching the end of his life. He asks to see his son Joseph with his sons, Menasheh and Ephraim. Jacob then meets with each of his sons.  

It is indeed this verse that is part of the traditional parental blessing on Friday nights: “May God bless you and make you like Ephraim and Menasheh (Genesis 48:20).” In every encounter, Jacob shares words of blessing which can be understood as the first Ethical Will. Jacob imparts his values and aspirations for their future. 

An Ethical Will can be written any time and there is not one format to do so. Write a few thoughts this Shabbat. Values you’d like to share with your loved ones. Write an addendum next month, next year, at a simcha, anytime. We often associate a Will with objects to be distributed. An Ethical Will is a spiritual legacy, and does not need to be divided. It can be one message shared or blessings written specifically to a loved one. 

Rabbi Tali Adler notes Jacob’s blessings indicate that there is not only one blessing for him to share. He has enough blessings for every child. This is a stark contrast to what Jacob experienced as a child when he and his mother Rebecca manipulated his father Isaac to give him a blessing instead of Esau. We are each capable of giving and receiving blessings. We are all worthy of blessings.

How do we find blessings in dark times? This has been a devastating week in Los Angeles and we all have a connection to someone —a friend, a relative, a colleague. We see the best of humanity when we reach out to others to extend kindness, to offer compassion, to help however we can. 
 

You may be helping a loved one in LA  directly. Here are a couple of organizations recommended by colleagues in Los Angeles:

Wildfire Crisis Relief Jewish Federation Los Angeles

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation

A Prayer for Victims of the Los Angeles Fires by Rabbi Naomi Levy

God, our Rock and our Comfort

Hear our prayer. 

Our hearts break for all those

Who have lost their homes in this deadly blaze.

The victims are in shock.

Life as they knew it, 

All their treasured possessions, 

Beloved heirlooms,

Touchstones for so many cherished memories 

Were swept away in an instant.

Their sense of place and home

Their safety and stability have been shaken.

Help us, God, to anchor them,

To shelter, support and steady them with love

As the numbness wears off, 

The enormity of the loss sets in

And the work before them begins.

Be with them, God,

Be their strength and their comfort,

Shield them from despair,

Let them know You are near. 

Fill them with the courage they will need to begin again,

Bless the firefighters and first responders, God,

And watch over them 

As they put their own lives at risk

To protect our beloved city.

Work through us, God,

Transform our helplessness into action,

Inspire us with the determination 

And the perseverance we will need 

To bring devastated neighborhoods back to life.

Fill us all with the vision of the new days that lie ahead,

A dream of our city restored.

Let Jeremiah’s prophecy of hope enter every heart and soul:

“The city shall be rebuilt upon its ruins!”

So may it be, 

And let us say, Amen.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Dantowitz


Shabbat Services tonight at  7 pm
Guest Speaker: Debbie Michels, Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley
Birthday and Anniversary Blessings

 

Parashat Vayigash
4 Tevet 5785
January 3-4, 2025

Dear Congregants,

As we begin a new calendar year, it is an interesting time to reflect on what has passed and what lies ahead. Parashat Vayigash includes the climax of the Joseph story when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. 

“I am your brother, Joseph. Is my father still alive?” [Genesis 45:3]I invite you to read the dramatic scenes of deceit, testing, teshuva, and family reunification

As we begin 2025, we are afforded the opportunity to mark another new year and reflect on our lives. We have just celebrated 8 days of Hanukkah—a time when many of us join together with family or friends who are like family. Our parasha invites us to consider family relationships. When have we faced conflict in our families, how have we addressed challenges, and how have we created the space to open our hearts for healing and reconnection? 

Sharing these lovely renditions of prayers for a new year/new journey. 

May acts of loving kindness bring blessings into this new year.

Auld Lang Syne—with new verses for peace

Tefilat Haderech sung by Cantor Sam Rosen; accompaniment by Joyce Rosenzweig at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (NYC) in 2020

Rabbi Dantowitz

Shabbat Shalom at Home

Sun, February 16 2025 18 Shevat 5785